


The Guardians have a vacation (and discover the power of love)

by Sealachii



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2014-08-22
Packaged: 2018-02-13 03:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2134737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sealachii/pseuds/Sealachii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What it says on the tin.<br/>The guardians take some time off. Peter realizes that something about Rocket's and Groot's relationship isn't entirely friendly. High jinks of a rom-com nature ensue as the rest of the guardians try to make the two own up to their feelings. Shit happens, things explode, more is learned about flora colossus reproduction than is desirable. And in the end, love triumphs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Vacation Revelation

**Author's Note:**

> just in case anyone doesn't know drey is that one guy who was played by john c riley in the movie.

There were a lot of perks to being nominated to guardians of the galaxy status: Free food, Free drinks, free adoration from crowds.  
There were also a lot of things that sucked about being nominated to guardian of the galaxy status: Free enemies, free death threats,  free murder attempts; to name a few. However, our daring heroes brave this all with their cunning wit and charming good looks. Or at least, that's how Peter tells it. The others will mostly say it's a combination of their combined skills and incredible good luck.

And as they all walk away from yet another bar brawl instigated by some a-holes who think that their ticket to a good reputation is defeating the guardians by recklessly endangering civilians; Gamora meditates on how sooner or later that good luck is most definitely going to run out. As they begin their stumbling, slightly intoxicated, victory march towards the Milano, she tips her head back to watch the stars (tiny pinpricks of light that seem to dance in her double-vision, burning bright and ever present) and wonders when exactly is their due share of bad luck going to catch up to them.

"Heeeey, pretty lady" Peter slurs, shambling to her side and wrapping an arm around her waist, shaking her from her thoughts. An action she surely would have broken a couple fingers for years ago. But this is not years ago, this is now. And while and she and Peter still have their differences, an easy kind of friendship has grown between all of them; where little gestures of affection are easily traded between all members of the team.  
"What'cha thinking about?" He asks, all half-lidded puppy eyes (Peter has a terrible habit of being clingy and sleepy when drunk. They all know this.).  
"Luck," She answers with a small smile, as she watches Drax nearly trip over thin air and Groot cradle an intoxicated, passed out Rocket in his arms.  
"No offense but that is boring as shit. You should think of other things. Things like how awesome it was when Drax dunked that one guy’s head down the toilet." Peter says, putting on his trademark Lady Killer™ smile; which does not have the intended effect when he is drunk off his ass, and instead makes him look undeniably creepy. Gamora can't help but smile at his antics, equal parts drunken hysteria and Peter's actual personality.  
"Come on, let’s get to the ship." She says in lieu of an actual response and begins the troublesome task of herding her drunken companions to the Milano (with the help of Groot, who never drinks).

Predictably enough, next morning they are all sporting terrible hangovers and complaining about them in full force. As Gamora just daintily sips from her glass of water and refuses to join in on the whine fest; her own pounding head-ache notwithstanding.  
"Auuughhhh" Peter moans, lying on his bed, face buried as deeply as humanly possible into the pillow. "Everything hurts."  
"Quit fucking whining Quill, you're making _my_ head hurt!" Rocket snaps from the little nest/cocoon of blankets that has become his bed, poking the tip of his snout out from the mass of sheets just so he can snarl at Peter.  
"I agree with our littlest companion," Drax chimes in from the other side of the room, where he sleeps on a badly patched, half deflated air mattress. "Your incessant whining is most unwelcome."  
Rocket's head emerges from the pile of sheets, with can only be described as a very cat like hiss of anger. "Drax if you keep flarkin calling me your littlest companion you're gonna find a bomb in your pants one of these days!"  
"I am Groot." The remaining member of their little group chimes from the corner of the room, with his usual peaceful tone.  
"Don't fucking take his side you idiot!" Rocket protests, half climbing out of his pile of sheets in indignation.  
"All of you shut uuuup." Peter whines rolling over so he can crack one bleary eye open at the usual morning mess that awaits them after a night of drinking.

Before anyone can undoubtedly respond and start another one of their usual morning arguments (with the exception of Groot, none of them are really morning people) the transmitter comm rings.  
"Someone get please get that."  
"I am Groot."  
"He's right; get it yourself Quill."

"All of you be quiet," Gamora snaps as she picks up the call, a little fed up with this foolishness no matter how much she loves them. As soon as the words leave her mouth blessed silence descends over the lower deck of the Milano. Long ago had the rest of them learned that when Gamora got that _one tone of voice_ it was in their best interests to comply with whatever she was asking for.

Satisfied with the newly established piece, Gamora smooth’s her hair out and turns to face corpsman Dey on the Milano's screen. "Umm, morning guys?"

"Morning Dey" Peter says flashing a v shape with his index and middle finger in what Gamora has come to learn is called a 'peace sign'. Or at least that’s what she thinks he's saying, because in reality Peter's head is back to being buried as deep as humanly possible into his pillow and his greeting sounds more like 'mmmphf hummfph'.

"Yeah morning 'Star-Lord'," Dey says, in that affable way of his, with entirely too much patience for someone who deals with Peter on a weekly basis.  
"So guess what guys," Dey begins, all sunny dispositions and chipper attitudes that Gamora just hates dealing with in the morning. "I have a present for you! We'll it’s not really from me, more like the Nova Corps. I just pulled some strings and talked to some people."

At the mention of the word present everyone noticeably perks up and untangles themselves from their sleeping arrangements.  
"If it’s not something potentially violent and explosive I’m not that interested." Rocket says, examining his claws and feigning nonchalance.  
"Uhh," Dey flounders for a second still not used to Rocket's and Drax's attitudes towards abiding the law even after these past two years the guardians have been working alongside Nova Corps. "I'm afraid it’s not violent or explosive? But i think you'll like it anyway!"

"Spit it out already Dey, no one likes hype." Peter says in between a tremendous yawn.  
"You're getting a vacation!" Dey announces triumphantly. "And the Milano's getting a makeover!"  
No one bats an a eye at the first announcement (they’re freelancers, they could technically take vacations whenever they want), but at the second one Quill's sleepiness vanishes and he jumps into attention spluttering about: "what are you planning on doing to my baby Dey?"

"Well, the Milano is a fine ship Quill, no one's saying otherwise. I just think it’s a bit small for the five of you. We thought it might be a good idea to expand her a little bit."  
At these words the five of them take a moment to look around at their sleeping arrangements. Simultaneously noticing that there is only one real bed and the fact that they’re all crammed into the same space as the kitchenette.

Quill opens his mouth (no doubt to protest against anything being done to his precious ship) but everyone else beats him to the punch with various sounds of agreement.  
"Wait no, no, no guys; you can't seriously think of modifying the Milano It'll never be the same!" Peter says, emphatically over pronouncing everything as if he could convince them through sheer will alone.  
"Easy for you to say asswipe; you're the only one with a real bed." Rocket snarks at him, flashing his canines in what could be a serious contender for the universes' most aggressive sneer.  
"Hey don't give me that crap! I offered the bed to Gamora and she almost broke my wrist for treating her different than you assholes!"  
"I regret that decision every day; sleeping bags are not as comfortable as promised." Gamora tells Dey solemnly.  
"I am Groot!"  
"The big guy's right," Rocket chimes in after glaring at Peter for a sufficient amount of time. "At least you have something, Groot sleeps on the floor!"

"That's not the point guys," Dey interrupts; as the past two years have given him a sixth sense for how and when to derail impending arguments. "The point is that this won’t be a problem anymore. Just come to Xandar, and we'll modify the ship to fit all of you more comfortably. And don't worry Quill you'll barely know we did anything to it. It'll be the same model as always; just at a larger scale. You guys can rest while we do it, take a breather. You've been working hard these past few months, it wouldn't kill you to take a break. What do you say?"

There is a moment of silence where they all turn to look at each other in what Peter jokingly calls 'moments of telepathic conference'. It takes only a split second for most of them to realize they are in agreement and gang up on Peter. "Aww no come on guys, don't even try to give me the puppy eyes, I’ve seen you all kill people in cold blood, you're not supposed to be able to pull this shit!" He protests with a truly unbecoming pout. It takes only a few seconds of intense staring and a desolate sounding "I am Groot." for him to crack.  
"Oh for fucks sake, FINE. We can go to stupid Xandar and modify the ship." He grumbles.

The rest of the guardians (sans Groot) celebrate the victory in true A-Hole fashion with shit eating smirks as Peter stomps up to the upper deck to plot a course to Xandar.

\--------

In the end it takes them a couple of weeks to make it back to Xandar, but soon enough theyre back at the same old hangar that they always dock in. Where they're unceremoniously booted off the ship with all of their belongings while the Milano is transported to the Nova Corps main ship workshop (Peter denies producing a very unmanly whine as his ship is carted away).

Soon enough they are collected by a shuttle and brought to the best villa available in the Nova Corps compound and instructed by Dey to "just relax".

One cannibalized television set, a small bomb and two very uncomfortable, bruised and slightly singed interns later the guardians discover that they might not be as good at this relaxing thing as they thought. Which leads to them being sat down in the living area and given a talking to like the small children they most definitely are _not._  
"Guys," Dey begins with a sigh. "I told you to relax. Not to traumatize the rookies and break private property."

"In my defense," Rocket says in what is possibly the least innocent voice ever, "The TV isn't broken, dismantled sure. But not broken."  
"I am Groot." Groot says in what is clearly a scolding tone of voice.  
"Oh, if you're not gonna help you can just be quiet you big lug."

"That’s not the point guys." Dey says in a tone of voice that suggests he's closer to losing his ever present patience than they've ever seen him. "The point is that you can't go around doing this. You're supposed to be relaxing and taking a break, not getting in trouble. The Milano still won't be done for a couple of weeks. So just try your best to break things or dismantle things or blow things up until then ok?"

"I will endeavor to do my best to not hurl any more of your impertinent beginners over furniture." Drax says slowly, as if he is doing Drey a great favor by promising him this. Which, his teammates meditate, for Drax it is.  
"I promise not to hit on anymore of the interns." Peter sighs, sounding for all the world like he is forgoing one of the great pleasures in life.  
Everyone present turns to look at Rocket in the ensuing silence, until he signs and throws his hands up in the air. "Fine, fine. I promise not to dismantle more things as long as you bring up a crate of spare parts for me."

Dey cracks a smile, thanks them all and leaves them to their own devices, knowing as well as they do that this is the best he's gonna get.

The ensuing hours are some of the most boring of Peter's life, as they while the time away watching bad TV, listing to Awesome mix Volume 1 for the millionth time and basically staring up at the ceiling in hopes of an emergency.  
Until something terrible, wonderful and magical happens.

Peter isn't really unobservant per se. He just has better things to focus on than his teammates most of the time. But now that he's restricted to the villa, and having seen way to many episodes of trashy soap operas for his liking he can't help but turn his gaze to them out of boredom. People watching is after all a step up from staring up at the ceiling; a small step up, but a step up nonetheless.

First he stares at Drax, splayed out on the couch next to him. Catalogues the swirling red markings that cover his torso, notices (not for the first time) how fucking _stacked_ the guy is and how he towers over nearly everyone. Then he stares at Gamora, resting on his other side, eyes closed. The delicate curve of her neck, the vibrant green of her skin, her deceptively small looking frame that houses enough power and skill to kill any man several times over.

Then at last he turn to watch Rocket and Groot, both of them occupying a corner of the living room. Various pieces of technology strewn around them (from the crate of spare parts Rocket requested). And then that’s when the magic happens.  
 See Peter has this (unbelievably unfounded in his opinion) reputation of being oblivious to everything among the guardians. But right here right now, right now he notices something game changing, something he's sure no one has noticed before, something _interesting_.

Rocket and Groot are sitting close. Suspiciously close. Rocket is pretty much sitting in Groot's lap close. Groot’s arms are wound around Rocket's midriff close; _cuddling close._ The raccoon seems unbothered by this. Rocket, who is so prickly about touch and affection and personal space is willingly letting Groot use him as a living stuffed toy while he builds more bombs out of spare parts and narrates the whole process to him. This however, is not what holds Peter's attention.  
They all know that Groot and Rocket have a special relationship that precedes the formation of the guardians. They're used to Rocket making concessions for Groot that would have earned any one else a good bite.  
What makes him do a double take is Groot's expression. The Flora Colossus' eyes have always been big and soulful. Over time Peter has gotten used to those big black eyes focusing on the world with all of Groot's patience and kindness and understanding. But never in all the years they've known each other has Peter seen something like the expression in them now. Groot looks down at Rocket a little bit like the way he's seen couples look at each other in the old rom coms his mom used to watch with him. Groot's eyes are crinkly and happy and there's a depth and a warmth to them that the actors can't hold a candle to. And he's suddenly reminded of the few times he's seen people who are genuinely in love look at each other.

Then Peter Quill has an epiphany that nearly knocks him off the couch with the force of its realization. "Holy shit!" He hisses out, staring slack jawed at the pair of them.  
"I am fairly sure your excretions are not blessed in any religion." Drax chimes in, startling Peter out of his earth-shattering revelation.  
"Shhhh" Peter shushes him, flapping his hands uselessly in a 'quiet down' motion, that is as stealthy as a stampeding herd of elephants.  
"What is it this time?" Gamora asks, not bothering to open her eyes to whatever idiocity is happening around her now.

"Shh, just look." Peter says, gesturing to the Rocket and Groot in the corner of the room.  
Drax and Gamora look over at them and completely miss the point of the whole endeavor. Looking back at Peter as if he's lost his mind and there’s no game changing truths of the universe hidden away behind their teammates.  
"I see Rocket and Groot; what has startled you so?" Drax asks, with his 'i-do-not-understand-that-metaphor' voice.  
"No, no, no, don’t just look. But really _look_ at them. Come on just look." Peter wheedles.

With only a few suspicious glances at him, they do so and while Drax still looks puzzled. Gamora lets out a small 'Oh' that might as well be a string of curse words coming from her. "I see." She says, in the softest voice Peter's ever heard her use.

"Thank you!" Peter sighs out, practically slumping on the couch in relief that it's not just him who sees it.  
"Friends I still do not understand -" Drax begins to say in his usual booming voice, before he is quickly shushed by both Peter and Gamora.  
"Quiet, ok, we'll explain in a bit." Peter whispers to him, as they all not-very-stealthily troop away into the closest bedroom (Gamora's).

"Ok so we think Groot is in love with Rocket." Peter blurts out as soon as the door is safely shut behind them. The revelation seems to help Drax none and he just seems more confused than ever.  
"If this were true would Groot not be displaying normal courting behavior? I do not understand the basis for this conclusion."  
"Love is not always accompanied by courting, and remember Groot is from an entirely different species. Maybe courting is not necessary in Groot's world." Gamora points out quite sensibly.  
"Forget about courting." Peter scoffs. "Just go back out and take a peek at how Groot looks at him and tell me that’s not love."  
Drax frowns and obediently troops back out to the living room. When he returns he merely nods and sits down on Gamora's bed, unusually serious. "I believe you are correct." He says at last, "I have not seen such a look on another's face since my wife passed." There is a moment of heavy silence. Because even after all this time the memory of Drax's past life always commands certain solemnness and respect.

"Why does this revelation distress you so friend?" Drax asks at last, breaking the silence.  
"Well, one because _come on,_ it’s _Groot,_ its _Rocket._ This could not get any weirder. Second, I’m pretty sure Rocket doesn't know." Peter explains making an impressive switch from his 'complaining' voice to his 'authority' voice. "This only means one thing guys."

Gamora raises a single elegant brow, well versed in the art of fearing the things Peter's 'authority' voice brought into being.  
"We have to get them together." Peter exclaimed, slamming his fist into his palm.

"You don't even know for sure if Groot actually loves Rocket. And even if you did know, you still have no idea if Rocket feels the same way." Gamora says, once more delegated to the voice of reason.

"Oh come on you can't deny the truth of that look. Groot's totally in love with Rocket. Besides have you seen how they are with each other? I'm pretty sure if Rocket doesn't love him back now he probably will at some point." Peter argues. "This is why I say we should do a little investigating to confirm our findings and then work on getting them together. Partly because everyone deserves love, even little furry turds like Rocket, and partly because I'm bored and this gives us something to do. Who's with me?"

"You're an idiot Peter Quill." Gamora says, crossing her arms and staring at him critically. "I'm in."  
"I also think you are mightily foolish friend. But i will also join you in this endeavor. For as you pointed out, everyone deserves love." Drax adds.

Peter claps his hands together and lets out what he will viciously deny is a mad cackle of suspicious laughter.  
"Excellent."


	2. Step One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Step one: Schmoozing and Gifts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some things i neglected to add last time bc i was hella sleepy: 
> 
> Groot has regrown to his full size in this fic  
> The Guardians are working alongside the nova corps as freelancers, they basically help enforce peace throughout the galaxy and get a small weekly stipend bc of it. (though they still take their own jobs as mercenaries/bounty hunters at times.)  
> Groot is refered to as a male int his story. It seemed to be what marvel classifies him as (though you guys can head cannon him to be whatever gender you want)

"Ok, first things first," Peter said, tapping the (of unknown origin) chalkboard that displayed the entirety of 'The Plan' with a ruler. "We must get subject A," cue poking of a crude scribble of Rocket with the ruler. "also known as the small furry turd; to fall in love with subject B." Cue smacking of ruler into a even cruder scribble of Groot. "Also known as the giving tree. We have approximately until three 'o clock of this afternoon to set this plan into motion. Any questions up to now?"  
Both Drax and Gamora instantly raised their hands.  
Peter let out a sigh knowing without a doubt that there were no actual questions to be asked, but that there were indeed criticism to be dispatched. "Alright what now? Drax you go first."  
"I do not understand who is who in your fairly horrible depictions of our friends." Drax said, squinting continuously at the drawings as if he would be granted instant understanding of them if he just stared hard enough.  
"Oh for fuck's sake I asked about the plan! Not about my art skills!" Peter complained, gesturing wildly with the ruler.  
"I believe the smaller blob with the large teeth is supposed to be Rocket, and the large stick with the bush on its head is supposed to be Groot." Gamora added (quite unhelpfully in Peter's opinion).  
"You know what fuck you assholes i want to see you draw something better!"  
"I will accept this stipulation, hand me the drawing implement my artistically challenged companion."

Peter moodily stepped aside and tossed the chalk towards Drax, who caught it faster than a blinking and advanced towards the chalkboard; the whole thing looking comically undersized next to Drax's hulking frame.  
"We're all waiting on you Picasso." Peter commented, idly twirling the ruler in his fingers, eagerly awaiting Drax's imminent failure.  
But Peter would just have to save the waiting for another day, for in just a few broad strokes of the chalk, Drax had created a rather simplistic, but instantly recognizable drawing of Groot.  
"That's quite good." Gamora said, surprise coloring her tone. "When did you learn to draw?"  
"I was instructed to attain a hobby that I would find calming while in prison. Though they did not find my offer of skull crushing acceptable the therapist was more than willing to provide me with pencils so I could practice my skills."

"Ok this is just not fair anymore!" Peter cried out, poking the ruler into Drax's chest. "You're built like a brick house, you're taller than me and now you can draw? Can you fly too?"  
"Proficient as I am in many areas, gravity continues to best me yet."  
Witty comebacks once more ruined by Drax's utter inability to pick up metaphors, sarcasm or anything else other than straight forward talk, Peter scowled and snatched the chalk from Drax's hand. "You may be my friend Drax. But sometimes, you disgust me."

Before Drax could not doubt complain about how he had done nothing disgusting recently, Gamora took the opportunity to nip (yet another) waste-of-time-argument in the bud. "Getting back to our original purpose; what exactly _is_ the plan if we may know?"  
"Right, so before i was so RUDELY interrupted by Drax here," Peter began. "I was about to cover the steps of the plan. Well, at least the first step. I haven't really gotten around to planning out the other steps but _details_ , who needs 'em!"  
Gamora bravely and stoically resisted the urge to smack Peter upside the head at these words. "Again; so what exactly is this plan?"  
"Ok so the first step has two phases. Phase one: I approach Subject B and confirm his feelings for Subject A and convince him to allow us to help him. Phase two: we start to help the giving tree begin his conquest of said furry turd by using a time honored tradition; Schmoozing and gifts. All this must be done no later than three. We clear?"

"Why have we installed a time limit upon ourselves?" Drax asked.  
"I work best under pressure," Peter answered primly.

"It doesn't seem too disastrous up to now." Gamora said, studying the scribbled layout of the step one on the chalkboard. "But you will not be going up to him alone. This demands a subtlety you don't always have and I am not letting you go about this with your usual tact."  
"What are you saying; I rock at subtlety!"  
"Peter last time you had to break bad news to someone gently you made them cry."  
"Seriously that was _one time_ , I don't know why you guys keep holding this against me. Besides that kid cried at everything it wasn’t my fault!"  
"Either way I’m not letting you talk to Groot alone."  
"Fine, fine have it your way." Peter sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically.  
And off they went, exiting the conference room Peter had commandeered and dubbed "headquarters", in search of Groot and Rocket. 

After fifteen minutes and one distraction, curtesy of Drax; Gamora and Peter were finally able to successfully separate Rocket and Groot, leaving the resident Flora colossus ripe for the harassing.  
"Groot! Hey buddy old pal! What's up?" Peter had said jovially, sidling up to him as soon as Rocket was entertained cussing out at Drax for touching his latest project.  
"I am Groot." Groot said in his usual peaceable manner, smiling at him in that heartrendingly genuine way that always made Peter wonder how a bunch of assholes like them had managed to get a friend as nice as Groot.  
"Yeah, yeah, hello to you too." Peter wound an arm around Groot's shoulders. Or at least made a valiant effort, as he was every bit as colossal as his kind's name promised. As it was he comprised by reaching up and winding an arm around Groot's waist. In a totally bro-like way. Since you know, this was soon-to-be Rocket territory. "As much as I like chatting with you big guy, I kind of have a reason in mind this time."  
"I am Groot?"  
"No, no don't worry nothing serious. I just need to have a talk with someone. To work through some stuff. So come on, I'd rather do this in private. Would you mind coming with me to my room?"  
Groot nodded, smile still in place, and Peter respectfully declined his conscience’s insistence that he feel bad about lying to his friend (and only non-assholeish team member) in this way.

Soon enough the sounds of Rocket's cursing faded out into a dull buzz as they went deeper into the villa, away from the living room, towards Peter's sleeping quarters. Groot lumbered behind Peter, steady and sturdy as always, the dull thunk of his legs echoing in the empty hallway.  
"Alright, right through here buddy. "Peter said as soon as they had reached their destination, gesturing to the open door.  
"I am Groot."  
"Oh no need to thank me. Really. Don't. I'm pretty sure that I’m being at least 80 percent a dick because I've been lying to you this whole time."  
"I am Groot?"  
"Yeah about that...Gamora why don't you explain. Take it away pretty lady." Peter grimaced, closing the door with a click and waving a hand towards where she was sitting on the edge of the bed.  
"Hello Groot." She greeted amiably, her tone and voice set in the kind of neutrality that the guardians had learned immediately preceded the infliction of either horrible news or painful injury.  
Groot, being no fool, started to draw back and immediately plan out exit routes.  
"No, no, clam down big guy, we just wanna talk promise!" Peter cut in quickly before Groot did something like tear the door off its hinges in order to escape.

"I am Groot?"  
"Peter is correct, I am sorry if I alarmed you. We really do just want to talk. Please sit." Gamora said, patting the space next to her on the bed.  
Groot eyed the bed critically for a few seconds, but in the end, slowly walked over and sat; the whole of the mattress dipping noticeably under his weight.

"Groot, in all the time we have known each other we have come to love and cherish you dearly." Gamora began, placing her hand on Groot's forearm. "We would want nothing more than you happiness, wherever you may find it. And we'd like to help you attain it if it was at all possible."  
"I am Groot." He responded, emphatically packing as much weight as he could into those three words to indicate his feelings towards them were no different.  
"Same for me," Peter added crossing over to the bed and sitting on Groot's other side. "We'd all do anything for each other and you know that. But we kind of noticed something recently big guy. And we're not pushing you into anything at the moment, we just wanna know if it’s true."  
Groot tilted his head, a puzzled expression flitting across his features.  
"We are talking about your feelings towards Rocket." Gamora began, speaking slowly and carefully as to not scare Groot off.  
"I am Groot!" Groot responded, that same broad smile lighting up his features as soon as Rocket was mentioned.  
"Ehh, that’s kind of exactly what we wanted to ask about." Peter cut in, vaguely gesturing towards Groot's radiant expression. "Like don't get me wrong, Rocket's great once you get past that whole asshole part of his personality! But, you see...how do I put this -"  
"We were wondering if your feelings towards him are not entirely platonic in nature." Gamora said, cutting right to the heart of the matter while Peter floundered.

Peter and Gamora had imagined many reactions to this question. Perhaps Groot would easily agree, unashamed of his feelings in that terribly earnest way of his. Perhaps he'd simply laugh deny it because they had all confused Groot's unconditional love towards Rocket as something romantic. Or most likely Groot would just be confused at something they had said and they would need to spend a good while clearing up whatever doubt he had. But instead Groot did none of these things.

As soon as Gamora had voiced the question he seemed to deflate. Shrinking into himself and casting his gaze to the floor. "I am Groot." He responded, in what was probably the saddest fucking combination of those words they had ever heard. But in the end answering their question with a jerky nod.  
"Hey, what's wrong? Don't feel bad about that man, is this some kind of gay panic? Because we can help you work through that." Peter said earnestly, while Gamora kicked him in the shin for his lack of tact.  
"Groot, if this is indeed the case there is nothing wrong with your feelings." She said, clasping his large hand between her own. "You need not be ashamed of you own emotions. I am sure they are much purer than anything Peter can claim to have felt for anyone else."  
"Exact-HEY!"  
Groot shook his head, and a creaking, swishing sound filled the room as his bark plates strained to keep up with the movement. "I am Groot." He repeated once more. His eyes boring into the wall, looking sad and soulful, filled with emotions they could barely guess at.  
Peter cursed under his breath. "Damnit, why is it that only rocket can understand you? Ok here's the thing. I may not know exactly what you're saying yeah? But we can tell you're sad about this for some reason. The thing is, you don't need to be sad about this. You and Rocket are like the best of friends. He wouldn't be a dick about something serious like this; if that’s what you’re worried about. In fact I'm pretty sure that given enough time he'd feel the same way! Just don't sweat it ok."  
"I believe Peter is right, please do not distress yourself about this too much. Whatever you are concerned about I am sure it will be resolved soon enough."

Groot gave them a small, sad smile and another nod. But continued staring at the wall with a far off look in his eyes. "Hey it's ok. We may not always understand you one hundred percent of the time, but we're here for you buddy." Peter said, slinging his arm around Groot's waist once more, feeling at least ninety five perfect dick as soon as he saw how much they had bummed him out.  
Groot hummed, a low, rumbling sound that vibrated deep in his chest and curled an arm around the both of them, drawing them close. They stayed like that for what could have been seconds or minutes, both Peter and Gamora curled up into Groot's sides. As he just sat there, and they watched their shadows on the wall.

\------

As soon as Rocket had come bursting into the room to collect Groot and left Gamora and Peter to their own devices they went off to get Drax to share their confirmation of Groot's feelings and rally themselves for phase two: Schmoozing and gifts.

"I would be very much interested in knowing what cunning plan you have hatched in order to advance the discovery of each other's feelings friend Peter."  
"Very simple Drax," Peter had said with a brilliant smile. "Everyone likes gifts. So we'll just give Rocket something and make him think it's from Groot and watch him slowly begin to fall in love with our leafy friend. It's fool proof!"  
"You are more of  a fool than i thought if you think matters of the heart can be easily swayed by the material." Drax protested with a frown.  
"I don't mean that he'll instantly fall in love, nah that wouldn't _really_ be love and that won't do. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Just a way for Rocket to start thinking about Groot and how nice and charming and handsome for a freaky tree alien he is. We'll start with gifts and slowly work our way up from there."

"What exactly do you plan on giving Rocket then?" Gamora asked, nonchalantly filing her nails as she waited for the customary, time-wasting arguments to be over.  
"Well," Peter began with a sheepish smile. "I actually haven't thought that far ahead yet."  
Gamora sighed, putting the nail file down and walking over to the small bag she had brought to the conference room. "I thought you might say that. So I took the liberty of procuring something for us." She said, fishing something small and metal that shined with an incredibly blue light from the bag. "This is a new kind of fission battery. It's supposedly packs quite the punch. I overheard Rocket talking about how he could make a bomb that could explode several moons if he got his hands on one of these a few months back. I thought it would make a fitting gift."

"Oh man I knew there was a reason I loved you so much!" Peter crowed. "Phase two is in session!"

\-------

In the end it took only minimal sneaking around to place the battery in Rocket's room that very afternoon, and only slightly more sneaking to steal a flower off Groot when he wasn't looking, (A feat that was a lot easier that it sounded since Groot tended to sprout some when happy or relaxed and grew copious amounts when around Rocket.) and place it on top of the battery. After that it was a waiting game and the rest of the guardians occupied themselves in various things for the rest of the afternoon, while managing to stick close to Groot and Rocket the whole time.

Eventually the moment of truth was upon them that night when Rocket decided he needed something from his room. Peter, Drax and Gamora sat on the couch in the living room and pretended to be very, very interested in the Xandarian drama that was playing out on the holo screen while keeping their ears alert for any possible reaction.  
In the end it resulted that they needn’t have kept their ears alert at all, since Rocket's resulting 'HOLY SHIT' could be heard all across the Villa. The three of them decided that was enough of a commotion to drop all pretense of watching badly acted TV and quickly craned their heads to try to see down the hallway that lead to Rocket's room. Another thing they needn't have done. As Rocket came pelting out from the corridor as fast as he could go. Whisking up to his perch Groot's shoulder in a flash, chattering a mile a minute about how: "GROOT YOU FLARKIN BEAUTIFUL BASTARD HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THIS?"  
"I am Groot?" Groot asked trying to keep up with Rocket's quick movements.  
"Don't play coy you moron!" Rocket nearly screeched, thrusting the fission battery right into Groot's face. "I can't believe you got me this! Oh man, do you know how many moons I could blow up with this baby?" He rambled, waving the battery about wildly. Groot cast his gaze around the room, until he landed on the unbelievably smug faces of the remaining guardians and his expression transformed from unbelievable confusion to abject terror.  
Before Groot could clear up the situation, and crumble their plans before they were fully put in motion, Gamora quickly walked over to inspect Rocket's new battery and drive the final nail into Groot's metaphorical coffin. "I did not even know you desired one of these things Rocket. Groot must be very attentive to have noticed it and given you one as a gift."  
"Yeah," Rocket responded in an unusually soft voice, cradling the battery reverently in his hands. "You always did notice stuff like that you idiot." He said in a wistful, almost sweet tone that Peter previously would have thought said furry turd with anger management issues was physically incapable of producing. "Aww crap," he cursed, turning to look at Groot with an uncharacteristic softness. "Just, wait here ok?" He asked, holding up both hands in a wordless 'stay' gesture, before quickly scrambling off of his friend and running right back to his room.

Groot did as he was asked to and stayed, though it should be noted nothing prohibited him from turning around and pinning down the remaining group members in a sad betrayed look that very closely resembled some sort of kicked puppy.  
"None of that man," Quill warned with a stern look. "This is for you own good you big baby. If you had owned up to your feelings earlier none of this would have happened."  
"I am Groot!" Groot had protested, his voice sounding the closest to outright panic than they had ever heard it.  
"Come on, don't be like this," Quill pleaded, pulling his own (much less impressive) kicked puppy eyes. "We're just trying to help!"  
Groot shook his head and waved his arms in a very expressive full body version of 'no'.  
"Peter's ideas may be unfathomably idiotic at times friend Groot. But you must trust that means well from the bottom of his heart. Please allow us to aid you in this endeavor of love." Drax added, coming up next to Groot and clasping a hand over his forearm.

Before Groot could no doubt refuse their offer again the dull taps of Rocket's feet were hear down the hallway and he appeared, a large silver sphere in his small hands. "Alright, this was supposed to be for later you big idiot, but since you gave me something so great I figured I should give it to you now." Rocket thrust up the silver ball, avoiding Groot's eyes, his tail twitching wildly back and forth.  
With one last, lost glance at the rest of the guardians Groot slowly and carefully took the offered sphere cradling it between both hands.  
"You're supposed to open it, just press the little button in the middle." Rocket mumbled, still avoiding looking at him directly.  
Groot did as instructed and the sphere popped open, dividing itself into triangle sections and splaying out in a shape akin to sun symbol. In the middle of the sphere there was a lone red flower, shaped out of blown glass, which scattered red fractals everywhere once hit by the overhead lights. But the thing that instantly caught everyone's attention was the music. The sphere was apparently some kind of music box, and as soon as Groot had pressed the button, some lovely, soft tune began to play. Groot stared down at the sphere transfixed, as the little flower spun around and the song echoed along the deathly quiet villa. The vibrant bell-like notes of the song filling up the silence.  
"It's no Jackson five," Rocket began, crossing his arms and pointedly looking at the wall. "But I figured you might like it anyway."

Groot hummed, another one of his deep rumbling noises that seemed to extend outwards from his chest with a force that made his bark plates vibrate. "I...am Groot." He said at last, after letting the silence and the music stretch on for a couple more seconds. Looking back and forth between the music sphere and Rocket with an awestruck look on his face.  
"Yeah, yeah don't get your roots in a twist; it’s just something I picked up on that job at the trader outpost a couple months ago. It was a bitch to fix up too." Rocket complained, fur becoming distinctly more fluffed by the second. "Any way’s yeah that’s it, thanks for the battery, you can shut it off by pressing the button again, show’s over assholes." He rambled, nearly tripping over himself in his haste to exit the room.

As soon as the noise of Rocket slamming his door shut reached the rest of the guardians, Peter jumped up with a whispered whoop. "I fucking told you big guy!" He said in an aggressively not-so-quiet manner with an ecstatic smile. Groot didn't respond and gave no sign of hearing him. Back to staring at the music sphere with a depth of emotion that would have made lesser freaky tree people cry.  
"I believe Peter is correct in this occasion Groot." Gamora added, her voice soft and encouraging as she leaned against Groot and also watched the little flower go 'round and 'round. "This is definitely something that indicates that Rocket is very much fond of you as well."  
"I would like to disagree my female companion," Drax said, eyeing the music sphere with an air of seriousness. "In my world these displays of affection are above and beyond the first stages of courting behavior. This is a beautiful gift, which shows great knowledge of Groot's tastes. It instead indicates that the suitor is ready for a lifelong commitment."

"I think you should go talk to him." Peter said nudging Groot with his elbow to get his attention. "It can't hurt can it? And besides everyone noticed he was acting strange."  
Groot hummed once more, lower and less rumbling than the last, staring contemplatively at the sphere.  
"I am Groot," he said to them, smiling at them a little for the first time since the conversation in Peter's room.  
"That's the spirit!" Peter said as Drax clapped him on the back and Gamora clasped her hand over his.

\------

And so off Groot went; shutting down the music and lumbering towards Rocket's room, still holding onto the sphere as gently as he could. When he reached Rocket's door the normally unfaltering Flora colossus hesitated. Turning back around to glance at the rest of his companions, who smiled and made shooing motions towards his destination. Gathering his courage, Groot carefully shifted the sphere to one of his hands and knocked.  
"Wha’da'ya want?"  
"I am Groot."  
The door swung open just a  bit, enough for some of the light from the room to stream out into the dark hallway and allow one dark little eye to peek between the crack. "Oh it’s you. Yeah sure, come in for a bit if you want to." Rocket said in a deceivingly nonchalant tone, letting the door swing open as he walked back towards his bed. Groot entered, shutting the door behind him as he did, carefully stepping over the various discarded pieces of technology and machinery strewn around the room. Rocket's room was as chaotic as his personality, with bits of bombs and projects strewn everywhere. Groot smiled as he maneuvered around them. He didn't mind the fact that Rocket did this whenever he happened to get a little space to himself. It was one of those things that just made Rocket himself, as well as made the room feel more lived in. As soon as reached the bed and sat down he placed the sphere gingerly between them. In between all the innards of a holo transmitter Rocket had torn apart in his quest for parts.  
"I am Groot," He said began seriously, those expressive black eyes fixed firmly on Rocket.  
"So you wanna talk about something do ya' you overgrown splinter?" Rocket said gruffly, putting all his attention on whatever potentially deadly thing we has building at the moment.  
"I am Groot." Groot said firmly, placing his hand on top of whatever Rocket was tinkering with at the moment.  
"Alright, alright, It's a serious conversation and I'm lookin' at you now; what's this about?" He asked, fur beginning to puff up once more, but finally looking at Groot in the eyes.   
"I am Groot," He said, gesturing to the music sphere that lay between them.  
What about it?"  
"I am Groot."  
"It's not a big deal you lump!"  
"I am Groot."  
Rocket made an unrecognizable sound of frustration; something halfway between a groan and a yowl, dragged his hands over his face and tugged on his ears; as he often did when he was particularly frustrated.  
"Can we _please_ not talk about this now?" He asked, voice smaller and more vulnerable that Groot had ever heard it. Even more than all those times that Rocket had too many drinks and started rambling about his beginnings as a depraved experiment. "Some other day Groot. Just, not now." He asked looking down at the mess of parts that lay between them and fidgeting with his hands.

"I am Groot," Groot responded, tipping Rocket's head up and leaning down himself so the they could see each other more clearly.  
"Thanks," Rocket answered, voice thick and cracked from the stress; letting Groot slide his fingers out from under his chin and card them through the fur in the back of his neck.  
"I am Groot?"  
"Yeah you can still stay you idiot. You can always stay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CACKLES WE ARE GETTING TO THE EMOTIONS  
> RUBS HANDS TOGETHER MANIACALLY
> 
> ps - Groots and Rockets emotional constipation will be explained in further chapters  
>  pps - [this is the song i think the music sphere plays ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47mLY8vX3L0)


	3. Explanations and Step One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> small note: in this fic Rocket understands Groot better than anyone. But its not because he can hear him when others can't or something. He's kind of guessing like everyone else a lot of the time. Only he knows Groot well enough that he can predict how he'll react to most things and therefore understands the intent behind the words.

" _Why_ did Drax ask us to come here again?" Peter asked (read: whined), spinning the office chair he was sitting on in endless circles.  
"It seems he has something he needs to tell us." Gamora replied, sitting in her own chair and doing her best to tune out Peter's constant complaints by concentrating on painting her nails.  
"Yeah but what the fuck is sooo important that he's been making us wait here for like half an hour?"  
"For the last time: I don't know. Be patient."  
Peter threw his head back and groaned, spinning around faster and faster in the chair. Gamora silently blew on her nails and sent up a wordless prayer that he'd spin out of control, landing flat on his face.  
  
Thankfully, before Peter could start getting even more impatient and whiny she heard the telltale footsteps of Drax approaching the conference room. Peter, who it seemed had also heard Drax's subtle-as-a-herd-of-elephants walk noticeably perked up and stopped spinning the office chair.  
"Finally," He half-yelled as soon as Drax had entered the room. "Where have you been?"  
"I was out gathering information regarding something that troubled me. It seems our love endeavors are much more complicated than we had first thought." Drax said gravely, striding in and setting down a portable holo transmitter down on the table.  
"Oh, crap, what is it? Did Rocket find out? Did he threaten to bite off my balls again; because if that happened I need another fake ID and some hardcore sedatives if I'm going to escape with all of me intact!"  
  
"Cease your worrying friend, our companion is not attempting to 'violate all known laws of personal space and damage the family jewels', as you claimed he wished to do last time. It is something that I think is even more concerning."  
"Fuck you Drax! Rocket trying to bite off my balls is the _MOST_ concerning!"  
"What is it that you have discovered?" Gamora asked, seizing the opportunity when Peter was taking a breath to no doubt continue to explain the concerns of the mutilation of his genitals.  
"I believe I am not the person who can explain this to you in its fullest capacity," Drax said, shaking his head and dialing a number into the holo transmitter. "I will put us in contact with the person who alerted me of this in the first place."

The holo transmitter screen flickered to life in front of them and the image of an very elderly, very decidedly pink, very decidedly alien old man appeared.  
"Hello! You must be the companions your friend has mentioned so much." The old man said, waving hello to them with a smile.  
"Uhhh, Drax," Peter stage whispered, "why did you connect us to nursing home?"  
"Peter, Gamora, this individual is Professor Apastron. A great leader in the study of other races and species. He is considered a paragon in the subject of Flora Colossus."  
At these words the general opinion of Professor Apastron noticeably changed from confusion and indifference towards curiosity.  
"Wow, you really study those guys?" Peter asked quirking up a brow. "No offense but how? You can't really speak to them; how do you even handle that?"  
"It is a simple enough matter of having assistants well versed in the art of telepathy." The Professor answered with a small wink.  
"I presume you are here to reveal to us something we did not know about Groot." Gamora said, arms crossed, warily expecting bad news."  
"I think I could reveal to you many things you did not know about Flora Colossus; but for now I'm just here to talk to you about something Drax happened to mention to me. I understand your Groot has a special relationship to one of your companions?"  
  
"If you call being in big gay raccoon/tree love with each other special then sure." Peter said under his breath; rolling his chair as far as he could from Gamora so she wouldn't be in reach to kick him for being insensitive again.  
"He has a particularly close relationship to Rocket." Gamora responded, kicking Peter squarely in the shin as he was trying to move away.  
"Yes, yes, what concerns me is the events that happened yesterday." Professor Apastron said, his wrinkled features furrowing into a frown. "You see, just like any other cultures the Flora Colossus have their own gestures and traditions for romance. They have many subtle ways to display affection both platonic and romantic. But the ultimate gesture between them is the gift of a song."  
"Oh no," Gamora said, catching on to the conclusion before it had been reached.  
"I'm afraid you are right young lady." The professor nodded gravely. "The Flora Colossus have their own term for it. The closest word we have to it in this language would be a soul song. Meaning that they sing out the very essence of their feelings, laying it bare for the other person to understand and decide whether they accept them or not. It is typically the last step in a very close relationship, one of the participants gifts the other with a tune, usually of their own invention. This signifies an offer for lifelong commitment to each other, be it platonic or romantic."  
"Wait, fuck does that mean that what Rocket did yesterday -"  
"Yes, it can indeed be considered a gift of a song. Your companion essentially proposed to Groot; if you would like me to use human terms." The Professor said, dropping the metaphorical bomb on them.  
"Fuck," Peter said, slumping down in his chair. "This did get more complicated."  
"I offer you my most sincere thanks Professor." Drax said in a subtle dismissal.  
"No need to thank me! If you ever need anything else don't hesitate to leave me a message!" The Professor said, giving them one final small wave and vanishing as the call ended.

"I am going to murder that heartless little vermin." Gamora stated coolly in the resulting silence, with the only indication of her dangerous levels of rage being the particular set of her mouth.  
"Heyy, come on maybe he didn't know?" Peter protested lamely with a grimace; trying to avoid the death of Rocket at Gamora's hands.  
"Groot is a treasured friend and I will not let anyone treat him in this way and toy with his emotions. Not even Rocket. You saw how he was acting when he handed Groot his gift. He may not have understood all of the implications of what he was doing but he definitely knew something." Gamora replied seriously, running a mental checklist over what non-lethal ways she had of making sure her current objective suffered the pain he deserved for fucking around with the sweetest person she had ever met.  
  
"Gamora," Drax began. "I understand that out of the three of us, you are the one who has had the closest relationship to Groot. But I implore you to not behead or disembowel Rocket in Groot's sake; not only because it would make him unhappy but because he is also your friend and you have not heard his side of the tale yet."  
Gamora huffed, but wound down from her possible killer rampage in light of Drax's surprisingly sensible suggestion.  
"Fine, but I will be having a stern talking to with him. At this very moment." Gamora informed them, before striding out of the room silent as a shadow.  
  
"She's gonna fucking neuter him isn't she?" Peter commented in an awed voice.  
"It would seem so." Drax answered, crossing his arms with a contemplative look on his face.  
"...Wanna go watch?" Peter asked, looking up at Drax from the corner of his eye.  
"I am interested in seeing how this develops." Drax conceded with a smug smirk.  
Peter just laughed (one of those awful giggle snort laughs that escaped every now and then), sliding off his chair and stumbling to the door. "Come on let's go see how close Rocket comes to losing _his_ balls."

\-------

When they had managed to find Gamora after her disappearing act (it turns out she had somehow managed to get Rocket back into the conference room they had just been in) she was just getting started.  
"What the fuck are you two assholes doing here?" Rocket sneered, looking a lot less menacing than usual as he was sitting on the table and his little itty bitty legs couldn't reach the floor. "We came to see the show." Peter said, as Drax nodded, both of them settling in the corner of the room with shit eating grins.  
"That they are here poses no importance. I intend to talk to you with or without an audience." Gamora clarified, stepping in between Rocket's view of them with a glare that stopped his complaints in their tracks; as this was Gamora's patented 'serious look of painful ass-kicking as named by Peter Jason Quill'.  
  
"Yeah, so cut to the chase already what is it that you want?' Rocket asked, trying to feign bravado and failing rather miserably as Gamora towered over him.  
"I am here to talk about your current relationship with Groot. In the beginning I was willing to let the both of you be oblivious idiots and work things out on your own time. However I have realized that you are being a horrible person and even worse friend." Gamora said, looking at Rocket in a way not unlike one would look at the gum stuck to the bottom of their shoe.  
"Aw fuck not you too!" Rocket jumped up, ears pinned back, his tiny hands balled into fists. "Don't you people respect privacy! What do you even know about this krutakin crap anyway! Listen I ain't gotta answer to any of you I don't owe you shit and -"  
  
"Sit down and be quiet!" Gamora roared, slamming her hand down on the table. "I tire of your feigned ignorance! You and me both know that what you did yesterday was unacceptable!"  
"What the fuck do you know about unacceptable or not little miss daughter of Thanos!" Rocket screeched back.   
As soon as the words had left his mouth a split second of cold silence descended upon the room, and Drax and Peter winced at what was sure to follow.  
"Never," Gamora began, carefully and coldly with a look of impending murder in her eyes. "Never, call me the daughter of that man. He is not my father and he never will be."

But Rocket, high on rage and indignation was too caught up to scent the danger. "What would you know about friends anyway you fucking bitch! It's not like you had any before you met us!"  
"At least I don't propose a lifelong commitment to my supposed closest friend and play with their emotions at my leisure!"  
"Shut the fuck up! You don't know shit about that!"  
"But you did and you have gone through with your actions knowing full well what they would mean to him!"  
"Shut! up!" Rocket continued yelling covering his ears, his anger noticeably dissipating into desperate panic. "Shut up, shut up, shut up! I don't wanna hear this crap!"  
"You are in no position to be making demands! Have you no decency? You are toying with the emotions of the person who loves you most in all of the considerable galaxies!" She hissed, teeth bared, leaning into Rocket's space so suddenly and forcefully that when he tried to back up he stumbled and fell.

"If I had someone that cared for me as much as Groot cares for you I would treasure it." Gamora whispered something small and raw in her usually level voice.  
This was apparently the last straw for Rocket, who flinched as if he'd been hit at her words.  
  
"I KNOW OK?" He yelled back, scrambling up, his eyes looking suspiciously wet. "I KNOW IM AN ASSHOLE I KEEP TELLING YOU GUYS! I KEEP TELLING HIM! ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE MY FUCKING FAULT IF HE STICKS AROUND ANYWAY!" He screamed, voice cracking every now and then. "I FUCKED UP OK, I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH YOU KNOW! BUT I FUCKED UP BEFORE AND I FUCKED UP YESTERDAY AND I'LL PROBABLY KEEP FUCKING UP ALWAYS! SO YOU CAN YELL ABOUT IT ALL YOU WANT AND IT WON’T CHANGE SHIT!" Gamora drew back not expecting such an emotional reaction, the tension in the room shifting to higher levels. As soon as he was done Rocket seemed to deflate, slumping down to a sitting position and making a sound that sounded suspiciously like a cross between a hiccup and a sob.

Peter and Gamora just stayed frozen to their spots, not knowing what do as they saw Rocket breakdown for the second time in all of the time they had known him. Drax however, stepped forward from the corner, gently shooing Gamora off and leaning down in front of the table until he was more or less at eye level with Rocket. "Nothing is permanent friend. The mistakes of our past do not define us. The fact that you have done ill is not the end of everything. There is always a chance to right past wrongs. You are one of the most ingenious beings I have ever met and I rest assured that you will find a way to make up for your transgressions. But you do not have to do so alone. Let us help you. We do not simply tolerate you because of Groot's presence. You are our companion and friend and we wish for happiness as much as we wish for his." He said gently, waiting with an uncharacteristic patience as Rocket roughly wiped tears away with one of his tiny fists.  
"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I've made that poor guy go through." Rocket responded, sniffling wetly and staring up at Drax with what was possibly the saddest he had ever looked since Groot's alleged death.  
  
"I would care for you no matter what you have done. All of us have made bad choices and I believe that if you had hurt our friend it was not intentional."  
Rocket laughed what was possibly the fakest laugh they had heard from him to date, "Ok then. So if I told you that I'm pretty sure I tore his heart to pieces and stepped on it a couple years back and acted like it never happened yesterday you wouldn't wanna punch me in the face?"  
"I am sure that you did not harm him intentionally," Drax responded calmly. "Though you have a great dislike for demonstrating it, I am convinced that you care for Groot as much as he cares for you."  
"You don't understand." Rocket said, looking down at his lap and wiping his eyes once more.  
"Then explain it to us." Peter said, venturing forward for the first time. "Come on man, we care about you. Yeah it sucks that you probably made a dick move but, you can fix it."  
"Though I am still unaccountably angry at you, I admit I have reacted too forcefully. We are all your friends and value your wellbeing." Gamora added, looking a bit ashamed at the fact that she had lost her temper and upset Rocket so. "Nothing you tell us will change that."

Rocket sniffled once more, but his tears seemed at an end as he looked up towards them.  
"It was about a couple months before we met you guys," he began to explain, nervously fluffing the fur on his tail. "Me and Groot have been together for about a year even before that. And one night we were just camped out in our hotel room after a job. I'd been drinking all that afternoon and it just wasn’t a good time. I don't know why the idiot decided it would be a good idea to do this, but he just comes out and starts saying stuff. Heavy stuff, like I can't always understand what he's saying but I could tell it was real deep shit. And the only thing I definitely understood was the end."  
  
"What exactly did he tell you?" Peter asked gingerly.  
"I would've bet all the units in the world that dumb as fuck tree told me he loved me." Rocket whispered, sounding like just saying the words out loud had broken his heart. "And I just flipped out. I don't know why I did it. I'm always get pissed when I'm drunk but I can't fucking understand why I got so angry. And it wasn't just angry. I was scared more than anything. I don't know why but the moment I figured out what he was trying to say I was terrified. So I just started yelling and throwing stuff at him. Told him to cut that shit out and never talk about it again. Called him all sorts of names. But that’s not even the worst part."  
"It isn't?" Peter blurted out and winced as Drax gave him a look that suggested that he was going to get his spine ripped out of his body.  
"Nah, the fucking worst part is that, I really do like that idiot. I've liked him this whole time but I’m too much of a piece of shit to do anything, so we just never talk about it. And I know it that it sucks for him to have me around all the time, thinking that he can't ever say or do shit about it." Rocket finished off, running his hands over his tail so forcefully he was starting to rip some of the hairs off.

That is indeed a most grievous affront to Groot's feelings, but I understand that he will forgive you for it no matter what." Drax said gravely reaching out a hand to pat the top of Rocket's head.  
"I don't think I even want him to. It's not like I deserve it." Rocket answered, looking completely and utterly dejected.  
"Nonsense friend. You are both deserving of love and I wish for the pair of you to find joy in each other for years to come." Drax said seriously, as if he just hadn't been talking like a ye olde hallmark card.  
"Besides, the hard part is admitting you fucked up. And you've already done that. Everything else is a lot easier after that." Peter added, slowly and carefully reaching to stroke Rockets back in what was a comforting gesture and _definitely not_ petting.  
"Do _you_ have an idea of how you make up for three years of bullshit?' Rocket asked sarcastically, thankfully making no move to bite any of Peter's fingers off.  
"Actually I do." Peter responded, flashing him a smile.

\------

"Ok," Peter began, after having mysteriously disappeared for twenty minutes and then coming back with some chalk and situating himself in front of the blackboard. "This is The Plan. The Plan is composed of at least five steps, needed to romance every man, woman or freaky tree alien in your life, success guaranteed or your money back. Step one is stargazing, step two is dinner, step three is movies, step four is dancing, and then comes step five, the big D." Peter declared ominously, waggling his eyebrows, "declaration."

The other three guardians sitting in front of the chalkboard all gazed back and forth between it and Peter with decidedly unimpressed looks.  
"This is your big fucking plan?" Rocket asked disbelievingly.  
"Hey I'll remind you that I've hooked up with so many chicks I can't even remember them! And aside from Drax neither of you have experience with this kind of shit. So if you have better ideas, now would be the time." Peter gestured grandly towards them, as predictably no one stepped forward. "I thought so. Now if everyone is done hating on my ideas, I'll explain to you how step one is already in motion."  
  
"What," Rocket questioned flatly in a disbelieving tone.  
"Ohh yeah baby." Peter whispered with a maniacal grin. "I talked to Drey and he pulled some strings. We have a shuttle coming here at eight. It's gonna take you to this nice, dark facility and you and Groot are going to have a very romantic time looking up at all the pretty lights. I'll even get you mood music."  
"No," Rocket began, covering his face with his hands. "No, no, no Quill. I am not fucking going somewhere and 'romantically stargazing' with Groot!"  
"See, it's that kind of thinking that got you into this situation in the first place." Peter pointed out.  
Rocket cursed up a blue streak in several alien languages and glared up at Peter, before huffing out a grudging: "Fine".  
"I'm glad you listened to reason," Peter said with a smug smile as Rocket groaned despairingly and Drax and Gamora shared concerned glances over his head.

\-------

A couple of hours later Rocket stood just a few steps away from the entrance to the living room, gathering courage to do what was possibly the stupidest shit he'd ever done. Just as he had been doing for the last 8 minutes.  
"I swear man if you don't get a move on I am going to kick your furry little ass in there myself!" Peter hissed threateningly.  
"Alright, shut the fuck up, I'm going!" Rocket hissed back, baring his teeth in a snarl; before squaring his shoulders and determinedly marching into the living room. Specifically to the couch, where Groot was sitting watching another one of those endless Xandarian TV dramas. Rocket took the opportunity where the heroine thankfully silent as she was dramatically weeping (after being cruelly rejected by the overly muscled love interest) to hop up to the couch and sit next to Groot.  
  
"So what you watching?"  
"I am Groot."  
"Seriously? That one sucks even more than the rest of them."  
"I am Groot."  
"Oh be quiet there isn't such a thing as an interesting TV drama, they're all horrible." Rocket said, easily falling back to their usual comfortable banter. But he was a cybernetically enhanced raccoon on a mission dammit and there were things to be done. So he took a moment to steady himself before taking the plunge and beginning step one. "This is stupid as shit man, you should quit watching that shit and come with me."  
"I am Groot?"  
"I'm going out. I wanted to go out and do something different than stay cooped up here until the Milano's fixed up, so I called up a shuttle and I'm heading out right now. Rocket said steadily as he could, staring at the Holo screen (and the weeping heroine still plastered all over it) a little too intently.  
"I am Groot?"  
"I actually don't know exactly where I'm going," he said slowly, internally cursing out Peter and the fact that he hadn't told him exactly where they were headed. "Drey told Peter he knew an interesting place outside of town. That's where I'm going I guess. Driver knows where it is but I don't know what its flarkin called or anything." He explained, throwing out a quick lie.  
Groot hummed contemplatively, thinking about it for a second before turning to Rocket with a smile.  
"I am Groot!"  
"Took ya long enough to decide." Rocket grumbled, hopping off the couch with a quick jump. "Now come on the shuttle's waiting."

In the end it was a long ass drive to wherever they were going, but neither of them noticed, consumed in their argument over the (negligible in Rocket's opinion) worth of TV dramas as a form of entertainment.  
"I'm telling you there's no fucking way that watching those skinny looking morons cry over guys with muscles bigger than their heads is entertaining!" Rocket argued, carefully hopping down from the seat of the shuttle down to the ground as soon as the doors slid open.   
  
"I am Groot!"  
"Oh what the fuck do those twits know about love? They wouldn't know love if it came up to them and punched them in the tit!" He ranted, automatically walking up the worn dirt trail in front of them without a thought. "I tell you what those idiots wouldn't - Groot?" Rocket questioned as soon as he realized the other had fallen behind; rooted to the spot outside of the shuttle looking up at the sky reverently.  
  
"I am Groot." He said, pointing up at the sky above them.  
"Yeah, yeah, so apparently Quill and Drey sent us on a nature hike. Big whoop, we see the stars everyday on the Milano.  
"I am Groot." Groot said almost reproachfully, still staring up at the multitude of stars above them.  
"Whatever, let’s just follow the path and see where the fuck this goes."  
  
Groot rumbled out a noncommittal answer but in the end stopped gazing up at the stars and moved forward. The trail led them from the end of the road where the shuttle had parked, into some deep woods with trees that towered even above Groot.  
"Sus am I glad you're more or less normal sized." Rocket commented, glancing warily at the trees all around them. Some of them so thick not even Groot would have been able to put his arms around them, and so tall that they seemed to stretch up endlessly from where Rocket was standing. "Between you and me bein' in places like this gives me the creeps. They got some kind you're about to get eaten vibe."  
"I am Groot."  
"Yeah of course you don't feel it idiot, you're way too big for most things to mess with you and you wouldn't even taste good anyway! Me on the other hand-"  
"I am Groot."  
"You bet your ass you're gonna protect me; I did not bust you out of prison twelve times just so you could let me be eaten by some krutakin wild animal when we're not even on a job."  
Groot laughed at that, one of those laughs he only seemed to give Rocket, where the vibrations rumbled through his bark plates and his shoulders shook from mirth.  
"Yeah, yeah laugh it up you leafy bastard, you'll cry your eyes out when I’m dead." Rocket mock protested, trying to stifle a laugh of his own.

Between moments of playful arguing and comfortable silence they at last came out of the woods and reached the end of the trail. Which led them to a field of tall grass and ended at the top of a small hill.  
"This is it?" Rocket said, glancing critically at the miles and miles of empty field before them. We came all this way to sit in a fucking piece of shit field? I am so gonna drop a live bomb into Peter's toilet next time he goes to take a dump. See how he likes having crap as far as the eye can see." He complained, but nonetheless- plunked himself down on the patch of grass Groot had chosen to lay down in.  
"I am Groot."  
"Fine I might as well look at the stupid things now that we walked all the way here for nothing." He sighed dramatically, but also lay down next to Groot to stare up at the sky above them. Groot hummed appreciatively, and the both of them lay there staring up at the hundreds of twinkling lights above them. Their combined light so bright that they could see each other pretty clearly despite it being a moonless night.

Though Rocket would never admit it out loud he privately thought it might have been a point to take the stupid hike. They saw stars on the Milano all the time, it was unavoidable. But when you're around something every day you rarely look at it the way it deserves to be looked at. The longer they looked up the more stars they saw, until their eyes had adjusted to seeing the faintest ones and they could see whole galaxies above them. Swirling, hazy trails of what looked like dust, but where really millions upon millions of stars and planets too far away for them to see.  
"I am Groot."  
"Alright so it's pretty impressive. Just don't get too cocky, nobody likes it when you're smug, it doesn't suit you."  
Groot laughed again, turning to smile at Rocket, who kept studiously observing the stars and determinedly did not think about it was getting way too warm under his fur. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a couple of things to mention -
> 
> Rocket did have a vague idea of what giving someone a song means in Flora Colossus culture, he just thought he could play dumb about it but that was obviously not the case. 
> 
> The creative curses Rocket mentions in this chapter are ones hes said in comic if im understanding correctly. theyre like an alien fuck you  
> Although sus isn't an actual alien curse word, i wanted Rocket to have a wide variety of cusses so i'll be making some up every now in then (although this one in particular isn't made up. but neither is it a curse word. according to google its latin for pig but hey~)
> 
> Xandarian TV dramas are the worst form of entertainment in the galaxy but theyre Groot's guilty pleasure and I'm laughing so hard about that tbh


End file.
